Episode 298a. Bubble Guppies: Les Miserables (part 1)
Plot Mr. Grouper, known as Prisoner 24601, runs from the ruthless Inspector Mr. Grumpfish on a journey beyond the barricades, at the center of the June Rebellion. Meanwhile, the life of a working class girl, Molly, with a child is at turning point as she turns to prostitution to pay money to the evil innkeeper and his wife who look after her child, Oona. Mr. Grouper promises to take care of the child, eventually leads to a love triangle between Oona, Gil who is a student of the rebellion, and Deema, a girl of the streets. The people sing of their anger and Goby leads the students to fight upon the barricades. Cast (Characters from the real movie) *Mr. Grouper as (Jean Valjean) *Mr. Grumpfish as (Javert) *Molly as (Fantine) *Oona as (Cosette) *Monsier Yellow as (Thenardier) *Hypletta as (Madame Thenardier) *Gil as (Marius) *Goby as (Enjolras) *Deema as (Eponine) *Nonny as (Gavroche) *Crabs, Lobsters, and Snailsas (Convicts, and People) Information *Genres: Drama, Musical, Romance *Rating: PG for little romance, little violence, many cursing, a bit of drugs, and many sad/scary scenes. *Type of film: Coming-of-age. Trivia *This is based on the 2012 movie "Les Miserables." You can read about on Wikipedia or IMDb. *There are regular and fanon characters in this story. Story Start of Part 1 The year is 1815. The French revolution is a distant memory. Napoleon has been defeated. Bubbletucky is ruled by a King again. Toulon Port - There is a iron-grey surface of the ocean, seething in the wind, towards the shore. Winter rain slices the air. Ahead, the port of Toulon, home of the French navy. A forest of tall masted warships. The great ships heave at anchor, the wind whipping their rigging. Through the sea spray, the great ribs of warships are under construction, and warships were being refitted. Toulon. Home port of the French navy. Toulon Dock - Storm-lashed sea and driving rain. A great wave rises up and hammers down. As it recedes, there were figures of men heaving on great ropes, the sea water streaming down over their faces. The harsh storm light catches glints of metal: these men are convicts, chained by manacles, heads shaved, wearing red shirts with prison numbers crudely stitched onto them. The ropes run up to a ship that is being hauled ashore - a storm-damaged man-of-war, its masts broken, rising and falling on the surge. As yet another great wave rolls over the convicts, the straining ropes go down into the base of the slipway, and find a convict up to his wrist in water, chained by two sets of manacles, as the rain and spray and wind scream round him. A great brute of a golfish, he seems to feel nothing. The convicts sing in time with the rhymtic pulls on the rope. Lobsters: Ha - Ha! Lobster: Ha - Ha! Look down, look down! Don't look them in the eye! Lobsters: Look down, look down! You're here until you die. Lobster: No God above! And Hell alone below! Lobsters: Look down, look down! There's 20 years to go. An officer grumpy fish in charge of the convict workforce, looking on, his face rain-lashed and expressionless. He stands above the prisoners on the top of the dock, as lines of convicts labour beneath him on the steep steps of the dock wall. Behind the officer, through the storm rain, there is a forest of half-built ships, their ribbed frames like great skeletons in the mist. Foreground convicts are at work on another ship that is almost completed, labouring in the crashing spray. Lobster: I've done no wrong! Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer! Lobsters: Look down, look down! Sweet Jesus doesn't care. Lobster: I know she'll wait! I know that she'll be true - Lobsters: Look down, look down! They've all forgotten you. Lobster: When I get free! You won't see me! Here for dust! Lobsters: Look down, look down! Don't look 'em in the eye. Lobster: How long, O Lord? Before you let me die? Lobsters: Look down, look down! You'll always be a slave. Look down, look down! You're standing in your grave. With a last great heave the lines of convicts haul the damaged ship onto the slipway. The stern flagpole of the ship snaps in a vicious gust of wind and crashes down into the shallow water near the convict. The officer sees and points his stick at the convict in silent command. The convict stares back for a beat, defying him. Then he drops down into the seething water and re-emerges with the great mast in his hands, held over his hand. His head breaks water with his bitter gaze still on the officer, as he throws the mast ashore in a deliberate display of strength. The officer nods to the guards, and they begin to form the chained men into lines to return to their prison. The storm is passing now, blown by the driving wind. The officer approaches the convict. Mr. Grumpfish: Now Prisoner 24601. Your time is up. And your parole's begun. You know what that means? Mr. Grouper: Yes. It means I'm free. Mr. Grumpfish: No! It means you get. Your yellow ticket-of-leave. The officer hands the convict a folded yellow paper. Mr. Grumpfish: This badge of shame. You'll show it everywhere. It warns you're a dangerous man. Mr. Grouper: I stole a loaf of bread. My sister's child was close to death. And we were starving. Mr. Grumpfish: You will starve again. Unless you learn the meaning of the law. Mr. Grouper: I know the meaning of those 19 years! A slave of the law! Mr. Grumpfish: 5 years for what you did, the rest because you tried to run. Yes, 24601! Mr. Grouper: My name is Mr. Grouper! Mr. Grumpfish: And I'm Mr. Grumpfish! Do not forget my name. Do not forget me - 24601! Mr. Grumpfish strides away to command the lines of convicts as they're marched away. Mr. Grouper walks away, hardly able to take in that he is free at least. The convicts sing as he goes. Lobsters: Look down, look down! You'll always be a slave. Look down, look down! You're standing in your grave. Road Out Of Toulon - Mr. Grouper makes his way up a rising track, a worn knapsack on his back. He comes to a stop at the top of the hill, and there before him, lit by the rising sun, spreads a wide vista of fields and towns and villages, stretching into the distance, with the snow capped Alps beyond. Behind and below him lies Toulon at the sea's edge. As the musical theme ('Freedom is Mine') plays, the darkness in his face gives a way to a new hope. Mr. Grouper: Freedom at last - How strange the taste! Never forget the years - the waste, nor forgive them for what they've done. They are the guilty - Everyone! The day begins! And now let's see! What this new world! Will do for me! Country Road - Mr. Grouper strides down the long rising road, pulling his thin coat close round him against the cold winter wind. He passes a long line of labourers working. He approaches the overseer. Mr. Grouper: Monsieur can I help? A day's work? The overseer notices shaved hair showing under his cap. Snail: Take your hat off. Mr. Grouper takes his hat off, revealing his shaved and scarred head. Snail: Passport. The overseer scans the yellow paper, and hands it back. Snail: No work here. Mountain Road - Mr. Grouper slogs on up the rising track into the mountains. Snow on the ground here, and darkness falling. He looks up and sees ahead a village built on a rock cliff, its lights twinkling, the snowy mountains rising behind. The tower of its handsome church rises up like a promise of refuge. This is Digne. Digne - Mr. Grouper enters Digne. As he drinks from the fountain, he sees a guard standing outside the Mairie. Mairie, Digne - Mr. Grouper stands waiting. The officer fastidiously writes down the name of Mr. Grouper in his huge ledger and the name of the town in his passport. The officer signs and stamps the passport. Crab: Mr. Grouper. The officer hands back the passport. Mr. Grouper leaves. Digne - Mr. Grouper walks down the high street, spies the warm glow of an inn and enters. Country Inn - Mr. Grouper sits in the corner, his hat low over his head. He eyes hungrily a group of cart drivers tucking into a roast meal by a roaring fire place. The innkeeper serves him a beer. As he reaches for it his coat sleeve rides up to reveal his wrist, calloused and scarred by manacles. The innkeeper eyes him warily. He discusses Mr. Grouper with two other men, then asks for his paper. He sees the phrase "Extremely Dangerous." From the yellow paper in the innkeeper's hands he goes up to the innkeeper's face. A blank stare, a shrug of refusal. Innkeeper Lobster: My inn is full. Digne - Mr. Grouper moves off wearily through the village. As he passes down the narrow street, faces peer at him from doorways, but the doors close when he goes by. A shadowy figure follows him. The word has spread that he's a "dangerous man." Prison - Mr. Grouper stops at the local jail. An iron chain attached to a bell hangs from the prison door. He rings. A grate slides open. Mr. Grouper: Jailer. Would you let me stay here for tonight? Jailer Crab: This is a prison, not an inn. Get yourself arrested. Then we will open up for you. The grate slides shut. As Mr. Grouper walks away, some children who have been following begin throwing stones at him. He threatens them with his stick and they scatter. Digne - Mr. Grouper sees over a garden wall a low doorway in a stone turret. He stoops through the doorway and lies down on some straw. He hears a ferocious growl and sees the head of an enormous mastiff. It is a dog kennel. Snow falling as Mr. Grouper makes his way down the road, hungry, weary, moving slowly, his trousers ripped and bloody from where the dog has bitten him. At the end of a road, beside it the snow-covered church, there was a dark churchyard. Chuch Yard - Snow-covered gravestones in the moonlight. Exhausted, Mr. Grouper collapses to the ground and huddles himself into the shelter of a doorway. A lantern glows in the dark. The lantern approaches, throwing shadows. Its little circle of light comes to rest on the crumpled figure of Valjean. He stirs and opens his eyes. The glow of the lantern in the darkness. Beyond it, the half-seen features of a kind old man. It's a Bishop. Bishop Lobster: Come in, sir, for you are weary. And the night is cold out here. Though our lives are very humble. What we have to share. Bewildered, fearful, suspicious, Mr. Grouper gets up and goes with the Bishop into the house by the church. Bishop's House - A simple table on which is laid out bread and wine, with silver cutlery. Two silver candlesticks light the room, illuminating walls painted with religious scenes. The Bishop ushers the bewildered Mr. Grouper into the room. The bishop's sister Madame Baptistine stands. Mr. Grouper hesitates. Bishop Lobster: There is wine here to revive you. There is bread to make you strong. There's a bed to rest till morning - Rest from pain, and rest from wrong. Sit, my brother. The Bishop gestures to the housekeeper Madame Magloire. Bishop Lobster: Madame, set one more place. (to Mr. Grouper) Please sit. The Bishop gently takes his arm and draws him into a chair. Mr. Grouper sits, and the Housekeeper lays food before him. Famished, Mr. Grouper eats like an animal. The Bishop says a short grace. Bishop Lobster: May the Lord bless the food we eat today. Bless our dear sister and our honoured guest. (To Mr. Grouper) Please, eat. Where are you travelling to my brother? Mr. Grouper: Pontarlier. Bishop Lobster: Is that where your family is? Mr. Grouper: No. The destination is compulsory. That is where the Law sends me. I have no home. Bishop Lobster: Then let this be your home, for as long as you need it. Bedroom - The Bishop leads Mr. Grouper to a bedroom where the walls are also painted with religious imagery. Across the passage, Mr. Grouper sees the open door to the Bishop's own bedroom. There the Housekeeper is putting the table silver away in a cupboard. He turns to see a bed made up with clean white linen waiting for him. He hasn't slept in such a bed ever in his life. But the Bishop is smiling, offering it to him. Bishop Lobster: Sleep well. Tommorow morning before you leave you will have a cup of milk from our cows, nice and hot. The Bishop turns away to go to sleep. Mr. Grouper: You let me sleep here next to you? How do you know I'm not a murderer? Mr. Grouper laughs a strange laugh. Bishop Leader: God will take care of that. Later that night, Mr. Grouper lies on the bed, fully dressed, deeply asleep. Outside a dog barks. Mr. Grouper's eyes snap open. The first thing he sees by the light of the moon is an image of God the Father gazing down on him from the painted ceiling. In panic, fearing judgement, he sits bolt upright. Then he looks round, and remembers. He gets out of bed, and opens the door. There, across the narrow passage, the door stands open to the Bishop's bedroom. In the moonlight, he sees the Bishop lying asleep. Above his bed, the cupboard where the silver is kept. Mr. Grouper moves silently into the Bishop's room, holding a metal miner's spike which he pulls from his bag. The floor boards creak, He looks down at the old man, holding his breath, but the bishop is peacefully and innocently asleep. He reaches up to the cupboard. It is unlocked. The cupboard door opens with a sharp cracking sound. The Bishop, disturbed in his sleep, moves a little. At once Mr. Grouper is over him, like a wild animal, spike raised to strike should he wake. The Bishop sleeps on. The moon comes out and lights up his beautific, smiling face. Mr. Grouper is thrown. He turns back and opens the cupboard door fully: there is the silver. Carefully he picks it out, fearful of every clink. One last look at the sleeping old man, and he makes a run for the door. Churchyard - Mr. Grouper rushes out of the back door of the house. He crosses the graveyard, scrambles over a back wall, and he’s gone. Bishop's House - The Bishop is coming in from morning Mass in his vestments when the door bursts open and two policemen drag Mr. Grouper before him. Mr. Grouper hangs his head, unable to meet the Bishop’s eyes. Constable Crab: Monsignor, we caught the thief red-handed! He has the nerve to say you gave him all this! He upends Mr. Grouper’s kitbag, and the silver tumbles out. The Bishop looks from the silver to Mr. Grouper. Bishop Lobster: That is right. Amazed, Mr. Grouper looks up. Bishop Lobster: But my friend, you left so early, You forgot I gave these also. Would you leave the best behind? The old Bishop is holding out the two silver candlesticks. Bishop Lobster:(to police crabs) Messieurs, release him. For this man has spoken true. I commend you for your duty. Now God’s blessing go with you. Silenced by the Bishop’s gentle tones, the policemen turn and leave. Mr. Grouper, utterly bewildered, takes the silver candlesticks. Bishop Lobster: But remember this, my brother - See in this some higher plan. You must use this precious silver. To become an honest man. By the witness of the martyrs, by the passion and the blood, God has raised you out of darkness - I have bought your soul for God. Church - Mr. Grouper kneels in the church. He takes out his yellow passport and stares at it. He turns towards the altar, and the crucifix above it. Mr. Grouper: What have I done? Sweet Jesus, what have I done? Become a thief in the night! Become a dog on the run! And have I fallen so far? And is the hour so late? That nothing remains but the cry of my hate? The cries in the dark that nobody hears. Here where I stand at the turning of the years. If there’s another way to go I missed it twenty long years ago. My life was a war that could never be won. They gave me a number and murdered Mr. Grouper. When they chained me and left me for dead. Just for stealing a mouthful of bread! Yet why did I allow this man? To touch my soul and teach me love? He treated me like any other. He gave me his trust. He called me brother. My life he claims for God above... Can such things be? For I had come to hate the world - This world that always hated me! Take an eye for an eye! Turn your heart into stone! This is all I have lived for! This is all I have known! One word from him and I’d be back. Beneath the lash, upon the rack. Instead he offers me my freedom! I feel my shame inside me like a knife. He told me that I have a soul... How does he know? What spirit comes to move my life? Is there another way to go? Slowly, he examines the yellow passport and raises it high, as if to the altar. Mr. Grouper: I am reaching, but I fall. And the night is closing in... As I stare into the void - To the whirlpool of my sin. Mr. Grouper stands and turns, walking fast to the door of the church. Mr. Grouper: I’ll escape now from that world - From the world of Mr. Grouper. Mr. Grouper is nothing now! Outside of the Church - Mr. Grouper comes out of the church into the graveyard and reaches a bell set on the edge of a promontory. Below lies the steep drop down the mountainside to the dark valley below. Mr. Grouper: Another story must begin! He rips the yellow paper into pieces and throws the pieces out over the valley. The scraps flutter in the wind. The scraps of yellow paper dance in the wind then fall away into the void below. One scrap of paper dances upwards in the sunlight. It accelerate upwards leaving Mr. Grouper and the town of Digne far below, towards the sun gloriously breaking through the heavens with the alps beyond. The scrap of paper then starts to tumble back down through mist and cloud below - through time and space - down to discover. Road to Montreuil - Three horses ride down a long muddy road on a flat plain towards the walled town of Montreuil-sur-Mer. Montreuil sits on an estuary leading out to the sea. Ships sit in low tide on the mud of the estuary along the dockside of the town, and red brick factory buildings. Eight years later. Montreuil-sur-Mer, 1823. Horseriders were riding on horses, even Mr. Grumpfish, flanked by two policemen. Gates to Montreuil - As the riders enter the walled town the poor clustered around the gates - destitute and sick people clammering to get in. Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails: At the end of the day you’re another day older. And that’s all you can say for the life of the poor. It’s a struggle! It’s a war! And there’s nothing that anyone’s giving. One more day standing about - What is it for? One day less to be living. Mr. Grumpfish sees the destitution of the people. Expressionless as ever. Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails: At the end of the day you’re another day colder. And the shirt on your back doesn’t keep out the chill. And the righteous hurry past. They don’t hear the little ones crying. And the plague is coming on fast. Ready to kill - One day nearer to dying! A plague victim, wrapped in a shroud, is being thrown onto a cart. The police enter the harbour. Harbour - The beggars are pushed back as the gates open and close for the police. Crabs, Lobsters, and Snails: At the end of the day there’s another day dawning. And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise. Like the waves crash on the sand. Like a storm that’ll break any second. There’s a hunger in the land. There’s a reckoning still to be reckoned. And there’s gonna be hell to pay. At the end of the day! Mr. Grumpfish looks round at the factory buildings, the boats in the harbour, the poor clamouring behind him, and rides on. Factory Yard - Heavy carts wait to be loaded with wooden crates of goods. Workmen carry the crates out of the factory as a lobster as the Foreman strides in through the doors, gesturing to a cart driver who’s taking a quick rest on a crate. Factory (Men's Section) - The foreman passes men packing boxes on tables and loading boxes onto crates. He passes through a door under a first floor office. Factory (Women's Section) - The long work space is full of tables at which conservatively dressed women are working, making jewelry out of shellac, a black resin which looks like jet. An impressive sight: obviously a very successful business. A wooden staircase climbs one wall to a glass-windowed business office. The figure of a man within. Foreman Lobster: (flirtatiously, to women) At the end of the day you get nothing for nothing! Sitting flat on your bum doesn’t buy any bread! Ashlie: There are children back at home - Olivia: And the children have got to be fed. Jimberley: And you’re lucky to be in a job - The Foreman has stopped beside a pretty young woman with light brown skin, pink hair and a blue bikini top and a blue tail. As he leans over to whisper in her ear, the young woman, surprised, pricks her finger with her needle. Foreman Lobster: (quietly, to Molly) And in a bed! Lolly: (to Molly, as a warning) And we’re counting our blessings! The Foreman continues his rounds, encouraging the women to speed up their work. Foreman Lobster: At the end of the day just be glad to be working. For a master who cares for the lives of the poor. Bella: He’s a riddle.. Doona: He’s no fool.. Dolly: He’s the answer to anyone’s prayer. Sonja: And he paid for the brand new school. Hannah: It’s no wonder they made him the mayor! Girls: Bless the man who leads the way! At the end of the day! They get on with their tasks, all glancing up at the boss in the office above. The Foreman returns to the pretty young woman, trying to help her. Ashlie: Have you seen how the foreman is fuming today? With his terrible breath and his wandering hands? Dotty: It’s because little Molly won’t give him his way. Bella: Take a look at his trousers, you’ll see where he stands! Lilly: And the boss, he never knows. That the foreman is always on heat. Ashlie: If Molly doesn’t look out, watch how she goes, she’ll be out on the street! The Foreman rings a bell, announcing the end of the work day. The women start to take off their overalls and pack up their tools for the day. Girls and Foreman Lobster: At the end of the day its another day over. With enough in your pocket to last for a week. Pay the landlord, pay the shop. Keep on working as long as you’re able. Keep on working till you drop. Or it’s back to the crumbs off the table. Well, you’ve got to pay your way. At the end of the day! The women queue up to be paid by the Foreman at the door. Molly has taken out a letter. Ashlie snatches the letter away from Molly. Ashlie: And what have we here, little innocent sister? The letter is passed surreptitiously down the line of women workers. Ashlie: Come on, Molly, let’s have all the news. (reading) ‘Dear Molly, you must send us more money, your child needs a doctor, there’s no time to lose.’ Molly: Give that letter to me. It is none of your business. With a husband at home! And a bit on the side! Is there anyone here? Who can swear before God? She has nothing to fear? She has nothing to hide? Ashlie starts to take Molly’s letter over to the Foreman. Molly tries to get the letter back. The women scuffle. The owner enters the factory floor. It is a well-dressed prosperous man. Mr. Grouper: What is this fighting all about? Will someone tear these two apart? This is a factory, not a circus. As he sings, the man looked cleanshaven, well-fed, and transformed; it's Mr. Grouper. Mr. Grouper: Now come on, ladies, settle down. I run a business of repute. Suddenly Mr. Grouper sees Mr. Grumpfish appear on the first floor balcony of his office. His world drops away. Mr. Grouper: (to the foreman lobster) Deal with this, Foreman. Be as patient as you can. He walks back to the stairs up to his office. On the factory floor - Foreman Lobster: Now someone say how this began! The factory women all turn on Molly. Molly and Olivia: At the end of the day she’s the one who began it! Ashlie: There’s a kid that she’s hiding in some little town. Jimberley: There’s a man she has to pay. Ashlie: You can guess how she picks up the extra - You can bet she’s earning her keep! Sleeping around! And the boss wouldn’t like it. Molly: Yes, it’s true there’s a child. And the child is my daughter. And her father abandoned us, leaving us flat. Now she lives with an innkeeper man and his wife. And I pay for the child. What’s the matter with that? Molly continues to defend herself to the Foreman, as the women sing - Girls: At the end of the day she’ll be nothing but trouble! And there’s trouble for all when there’s trouble for one! While we’re earning our daily bread. She’s the one with her hands in the butter - You must send the slut away. Or we’re all going to end in the gutter. And it’s us who’ll have to pay! At the end of the day! The Foreman pulls Molly away. Foreman Lobster: I might have known the bitch could bite! I might have known the cat had claws! I might have guessed your little secret! Ah yes, the virtuous Molly. Who keeps herself so pure and clean - You’d be the cause, I had no doubt. Of any trouble hereabout. You play a virgin in the light! But need no urging in the night! Ashlie: She’s been laughing at you! While she’s having her men! Girls:''' '''She’ll be nothing but trouble again and again! Dolly: You must sack her today! Girls: Sack the girl today! Foreman Lobster: Right, my girl! On your way! Below, Molly turns and calls to Mr. Grouper in his office above with a pitiful cry. Molly: M’sieur Mayor, help me! I have a child! Mr. Grouper hears the cry, but he has other concerns. He turns round to face Mr. Grumpfish. Mr. Grumpfish stares at him. On the factory floor below, the Foreman hustles Molly out, as she struggles against him. End of Part 1. Recap In Bagne prison in Toulon, France, in 1815, the prisoners work at hard labour. After 19 years in prison (5 for stealing bread for his starving sister's son and her family, and the rest for trying to escape), Mr. Grouper, "prisoner 24601," is released on parole by the policeman Mr. Grumpfish. By law, Mr. Grouper must display a yellow ticket-of-leave, which identifies him as an ex-convict. Mr. Grouper is turned away by many people due to his being a convict. However, The Lobster Bishop of Digne offers him food and shelter. Overnight, Mr. Grouper steals silver from the bishop lobster, and the police catch him. The Bishop Lobster lies to save Mr. Grouper and not only lets him keep the silver he stole, but also gives him two more valuable candlesticks. The Bishop Lobster tells Mr. Grouper that he must use the silver "to become an honest man" and that he has "bought (Mr. Grouper's) soul for God." Ashamed of what he did, yet humbled by the bishop lobster's mercy and kindness, Mr. Grouper follows the Bishop Lobster's advice and tears up his yellow ticket, breaking his parole. 8 years later, Mr. Grouper has assumed a new identity as Monsieur Madeleine, a wealthy factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. One of his workers, Molly, has a fight when another worker named Ashlie discovers she is sending money to her secret illegitimate daughter, Oona, who lives with an innkeeper and his wife. Molly and Ashlie fight, and the Mayor breaks up the conflict but asks his factory foreman lobster to resolve it. The other women demand Molly's dismissal, and because she had previously rejected his advances, the foreman lobster throws Molly out. Category:Stories